Arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported and corner unit for such a packaging arrangement

ABSTRACT

Arrangement for packaging articles which are to be transported, including at least one sheet-like packaging part by means of which at least one article which is to be transported can be enclosed at least in certain sections, wherein the packaging arrangement further includes at least one roller, which can make it easier to transport the packaging arrangement.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to an arrangement for packagingarticles which are to be transported, comprising at least one sheet-likepackaging part by means of which at least one article which is to betransported can be enclosed at least in certain sections. The presentinvention also relates to a corner unit for such a packagingarrangement, it being possible for the corner unit to enclose the atleast one sheet-like packaging part, at least in part, at a corner ofthe packaging arrangement.

[0002] Packaging arrangements of the type mentioned above are known to asufficient extent from the art. It is possible here, for example, forthe packaging parts to consist of paperboard and to be folded in part,with the result that a folding box is produced. Such packagingarrangements may also comprise reinforced corners or corner units of theabovementioned type, which, on the one hand, can serve for protectingthe packaging arrangement during transportation, and, on the other hand,can fasten separate sheet-like packaging parts on one another.

[0003] The disadvantage with the packaging arrangements from the priorart has proved to be that large bulky and/or heavy articles, which areto be transported, require additional auxiliary means for transportingpurposes. For example, it is necessary for trucks or rollable pallets tobe pushed beneath the packaging arrangement with the article locatedtherein, in order for it to be possible to push the packagingarrangement with the article, which is to be transported. As analternative, a pallet on which the packaging arrangement is locatedwould have to be transported by a forklift truck.

[0004] The problem on which the present invention is based is to providea packaging arrangement of the type mentioned in the introduction, whichis easier to transport. It is also intended to provide a corner unit forsuch a packaging arrangement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] It is provided that the packaging arrangement further comprisesat least one roller, which can make it easier to transport the packagingarrangement. As a result of this roller provided directly on thepackaging arrangement, there is no need to use additional auxiliarymeans, such as rolling substructures or the like, in order for it to bepossible to transport the packaging arrangement easily.

[0006] The at least one roller is preferably secured in a rotatablemanner and, in particular, the at least one roller projects outwards, atleast in a transporting state, beyond the packaging arrangement at leaston one side. In particular, it would be possible here for the roller tobe capable of being swung out of a stowed position into a transportingposition. In the abovementioned transporting state, the at least oneroller projects outwards such that, at least on one side of thepackaging arrangement, the roller, and not the rest of the packagingarrangement, can stand on the floor or ground. The roller can thus bemade to rotate by virtue of the packaging arrangement being pushed, withthe result that it is considerably easier to push the transportingarrangement.

[0007] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, itis provided that the packaging arrangement has at least two spaced-apartrollers. In contrast to just one roller, in the case of which theoperation of pushing the packing arrangement is associated with theadditional operation of raising the packaging arrangement on one side,the packaging arrangement can stand, and be pushed, on two spaced-apartrollers.

[0008] According to the invention, it may be provided that the at leasttwo rollers are arranged at two different corners of the packagingarrangement. It is also quite possible, however, according to theinvention, for the at least one roller to be arranged on one side of thepackaging arrangement. For example, it would be possible for two or morerollers to be distributed over an underside of the packagingarrangement, with the result that the packaging arrangement can stand onthe floor or ground by way of these rollers.

[0009] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, thepackaging arrangement comprises at least one corner unit, in which theat least one roller is integrated. It is possible here for the cornerunit to enclose a corner of the packaging arrangement at least incertain sections. It is thus possible for such a corner unit, in amanner similar to the corner units which are known from the prior art,to protect the corners of the packaging arrangement duringtransportation, in some cases to hold together the various packagingparts and, at the same time, to contribute to easier displaceability ofthe packaging arrangement on account of the roller.

[0010] According to the invention, it may be provided that the cornerunit comprises a first half and a second half, which can be connected toone another via closure elements. It is thus possible for such a cornerunit, even with an article, which is to be transported already enclosedby the packaging arrangement, to be simply fitted on the packagingarrangement at a subsequent stage by the two halves being positioned onthe corresponding sides of the corner and connected to one another.

[0011] Each of the halves of the corner unit here may have a roller,these being secured such that they can be rotated, in particular, on acommon spindle. In this way, the flux of weight-induced forces of thearticle, which is to be transported, can be transmitted, via each of thehalves, to the roller correspondingly assigned to the half.

[0012] It may be provided according to the invention that arranged on atleast one of the packaging parts is a retaining strip which has a recessand projects into the corner unit, the corner unit containing aretaining protrusion which can engage in the recess. Such aconfiguration of the packaging part and corner unit achieves, bystraightforward means, a fixed mechanical connection between thepackaging parts and the corner units.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theat least one corner unit has an outer stacking protrusion and an outerstacking recess arranged on its opposite side, the protrusion and recessallowing the different packaging arrangements to be stacked more easily.The corner units may thus also, in addition, contribute to the stackingcapability of the packaging arrangements.

[0014] It is possible according to the invention for the article, whichis to be transported to be a table-tennis tabletop. Without the rollersaccording to the invention for the packaging, a table-tennis tabletopenclosed by a packaging arrangement is very difficult for one person totransport. By virtue of the packaging arrangement being equippedaccording to the invention with rollers, one person can push thetable-tennis tabletop enclosed by the packaging arrangementcomparatively easily.

[0015] As is known from the prior art, it is possible for the at leastone sheet-like packaging part to be produced from paperboard and to befolded, in particular at least in part, with the result that a foldingbox is produced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Further features and advantages of the present invention becomeclear from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments,with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0017]FIG. 1 shows a side view of a packaging arrangement according tothe invention;

[0018]FIG. 2 shows a view, in detail form, in the direction of the arrowII in FIG. 1;

[0019]FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of a corner unit according to theinvention for a packaging arrangement according to FIG. 1;

[0020]FIG. 4 shows a side view of the corner unit according to FIG. 3;and

[0021]FIG. 5 shows a sectional view in the direction of the arrows V-Vin FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] As can be seen from FIG. 1, a packaging arrangement according tothe invention comprises sheet-like packaging parts 1 which are in theform, for example, of paperboard surfaces or the like. The articles,which are to be transported, may be enclosed, in particular, to the fullextent by the sheet-like packaging parts 1. As is known from the art,the sheet-like packaging parts may be folded packing boxes made ofpaperboard.

[0023] The packaging arrangement according to the invention furthercomprises corner units 2, 3, which can engage around the, in particular,four corners of the packaging arrangement, which in FIG. 1 is square.The corner units 2, 3 can serve, on the one hand, for fastening separatesheet-like packaging parts 1 on one another and/or for protecting thepackaging arrangement, in particular the corners of the packagingarrangement, during transportation. The corner units 3, which aredepicted at the bottom of FIG. 1, in contrast to the corner units 2which are arranged on the top side of the packaging arrangement, haverollers 4, which, in the state depicted in FIG. 1, can stand on thefloor or ground 5.

[0024] The corner unit 3 can be seen even more clearly from FIGS. 2 to5. It can be gathered from FIG. 3 in particular that the corner unit 3is of more or less cubic shape. It can clearly be gathered from FIG. 3and also from FIG. 5 that the corner unit 3 has a first half 6 and asecond half 7 which can be connected to one another via closure elements8, 9.

[0025] The corner unit 3 is internally hollow in parts, with the resultthat it can engage around the corner region of the packaging arrangementand/or of the sheet-like packaging parts 1. It can be seen from FIG. 2that a retaining strip 10 is fitted on at least one of the packagingparts 1, and projects into the corner unit 3. The retaining strip 10 hasa recess 11, behind which a retaining protrusion 12 of the corner unit 3can engage. The interaction of the retaining strip 10 and the retainingprotrusions 12 allows the corner units 3 to be fitted securely on thepackaging parts 1.

[0026] It can also be gathered from FIG. 3 that each of the halves 6, 7of the corner unit 3 has a roller 4, these being secured such that theycan be rotated on a common spindle 13 (see FIG. 5). The rollers 4 hereare arranged, in particular, in the outermost corner region of thecorner unit 3, this corner region extending away from the sheet-likepackaging parts 1.

[0027] It can also be seen from FIGS. 3 and 5 that the first half 6 ofthe corner unit 3 has a stacking protrusion 14 projecting outwardsessentially parallel to the spindle 13. On the opposite side, the secondhalf 7 of the corner unit 3 has an outer stacking recess 15 which,likewise parallel to the spindle 13, extends into the interior of thesecond half 7. The stacking protrusion 14 and the stacking recess 15 arearranged and shaped here such that stacking protrusions 14 and stackingrecesses 15 of different packaging arrangements can interengage, withthe result that the stacking protrusions 14 and the stacking recesses 15make it possible, or make it easier, to stack the packagingarrangements.

[0028] It is quite possible according to the invention for the rollers4, rather than being fitted on corner units 3, to be, for example,fitted in the centre of the underside of the packaging arrangement ordistributed over the underside. The underside may be both a narrow sideand a longitudinal side.

List of designations

[0029]1 Sheet-like packaging part

[0030]2 Corner unit without roller

[0031]3 Corner unit with roller

[0032]4 Roller

[0033]5 Floor or ground

[0034]6 First half of 3

[0035]7 Second half of 3

[0036]8,9 Closure elements

[0037]10 Retaining strip on 1

[0038]11 Recess in 10

[0039]12 Retaining protrusion in 3

[0040]13 Spindle of 4

[0041]14 Outer stacking protrusion

[0042]15 Outer stacking recess

What is claimed is:
 1. A packaging arrangement for packaging articleswhich are to be transported, comprising at least one sheet-likepackaging part by means of which at least one article which is to betransported can be enclosed at least in certain sections, wherein thepackaging arrangement further comprises at least one roller, which canmake it easier to transport the packaging arrangement.
 2. The packagingarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one roller issecured in a rotatable manner.
 3. The packaging arrangement according toclaim 1, wherein the at least one roller projects outwards, at least ina transporting state, beyond the packaging arrangement at least on oneside.
 4. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein thepackaging arrangement has at least two spaced-apart rollers.
 5. Thepackaging arrangement according to claim 4, wherein the at least tworollers are arranged at two different corners of the packagingarrangement.
 6. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, whereinthe at least one roller is arranged on one side of the packagingarrangement.
 7. The packaging arrangement according to claim 1, whereinthe packaging arrangement comprises at least one corner unit, in whichthe at least one roller is integrated.
 8. The packaging arrangementaccording to claim 7, wherein the corner unit can enclose a corner ofthe packaging arrangement at least in certain sections.
 9. The packagingarrangement according to claim 7, wherein the corner unit comprises afirst half and a second half, which can be connected to one another viaclosure elements.
 10. The packaging arrangement according to claim 9,wherein each of the halves of the corner unit has a roller, these beingsecured such that they can be rotated, in particular, on a commonspindle.
 11. The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, whereinarranged on at least one of the packaging parts is a retaining stripwhich has a recess and projects into the corner unit, the corner unitcontaining a retaining protrusion which can engage in the recess. 12.The packaging arrangement according to claim 7, wherein the at least onecorner unit has an outer stacking protrusion and an outer stackingrecess arranged on its opposite side, the protrusion and recess allowingdifferent packaging arrangements to be stacked more easily.
 13. Thepackaging arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the article, whichis to be transported, is a table-tennis tabletop.
 14. The packagingarrangement according to claim 1, wherein the at least one sheet-likepackaging part is produced from paperboard and is folded, in particularat least in part, with the result that a folding box is produced.
 15. Acorner unit for a packaging arrangement according to claim 1, it beingpossible for the corner unit to enclose the at least one sheet-likepackaging part, at least in part, at a corner of the packagingarrangement, wherein the at least one roller is integrated in the cornerunit.